To Know Fear, to be Feared, and to Not Fear
by TheGreekGoddessAthena
Summary: Starfire is having a hard time her first few months on Earth. She knows how scary an alien can be, as she has dealt with aliens of her own that have forever haunted her. She does not wish for the humans of Earth to fear her. Can a newfound friend ease her mind? Enjoy!


A/N: Alright! My first TT fanfic! Let me know what y'all think :D

Set sometime after "Switched", but before "Deep Six". Cartoon world, though a bit of comic in it, talking about Star's past, something that was not discussed greatly in the cartoon.

I don't own Teen Titans! Though, I wish I did…

-:-

Starfire floated next to Raven, joining in the repetitive chant of "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." She had tried to calm her always racing mind, but couldn't find any way of detaching herself so thoroughly as Raven could. How Raven could do this every day was beyond her, as a ball of energy like herself loved to be on the move. As much as she wished to be flying, perhaps, she did enjoy this time with Raven. The two seemed to be getting closer. That was something Starfire greatly appreciated. It was, as she would say, glorious to have another female friend in the Tower. Raven had even taken her to the mall of shopping! She was thankful, knowing it was not Raven's thing, and in return spent a while each day, chanting with the girl.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

"Azarath, Metrion, Zin—"

"Oh, Azar, Starfire!" Raven snapped, exiting her trance. "I can feel your energy still," she said monotonously. "You're having internal conflict. What's wrong?"

Starfire looked at her curiously. "How did you know—"

"I'm an empath, Starfire. I can feel what you are feeling. What's up?"

Starfire cocked her head sideways. "I do not understand. The 'up' is the ceiling, no?"

Raven smiled lightly. Her friend (Azar, that was strange saying. She'd never had another female friend before this!) was very unaccustomed to Earth's ways and slang."Sorry, Starfire. It's a term meaning, 'what's wrong,' or 'what are you doing?' In this case, might I ask what's bothering you? I can feel the fight you're having with yourself."

"I am sorry, I did not mean to interrupt your meditation! Please, allow me to go and let you continue." Starfire said, plastering a smile on her face. "I am truly sorry. Perhaps tomorrow I will meditate with you!"

Raven shook her head. She walked away from the window towards the couch, gesturing for the redheaded alien to follow her. As much as she preferred meditating in her room, she just hadn't trusted Starfire enough. Her room was her only place to go when she needed alone time. Besides, her room was dark, so…not Starfire. She didn't want the girl feeling uncomfortable. Starfire floated to Raven's side, sitting beside her on the large black couch. "Starfire, tell me what's bothering you."

Starfire sighed unhappily, so unlike her. "I am…the home sick. I miss Tamaran, and I fear that I do not belong here. Your ways are so unlike ours, and I do not understand many things people say here. I have seen the looks they direct towards me. They are frightened by me, I can tell. Even though I help aid them, I know they fear me." She shook her head. "On my planet, people see me as a warrior. Here, I am…an alien. I am strange to them, as they are strange to me."

Raven reluctantly put a hand on the girl's shoulder. She wasn't one for contact, so this gesture made Starfire's head snap up. She was thankful the girl was trying to comfort her. "Starfire, you do belong here. You're…family. And don't you think I don't see the looks people give me? Azar, Starfire, I'm half demon! They see me as some creepy half-human. Don't let them get to you."

Starfire shook her head. "No! Raven, you are beautiful, and they admire you greatly! They do not ever give you the mean and hurtful looks. They are afraid of me! I fear that they do not wish my presence here."

Raven sighed. No one had ever called her beautiful before. While she wasn't one for excessive emotion (though, that was mainly because her powers would get out of control), she felt sorry for the girl. "Starfire, let's go to the park. I think we need some," she swallowed, forcing the next two words out gruffly. "Girl time."

Starfire perked up immediately. "Oh, glorious, Raven! I do appreciate this! Perhaps we may do the picnicking? I am sure the boys will not miss us for lunch."

Raven nodded. "Sure, Starfire. Let's have a picnic, just you and me."

-:-

Raven wished she could be reading, but she knew the alien needed her now. Of course Raven felt the same as she did; people were scared of her, too. They had only been in Jump for a few months. They just hadn't warmed up to the Titans yet. She honestly could care less of what people thought of her. She was simply…making up for her future. That was all that mattered. They would hate her then, so she did not care what they thought of her now.

However, Starfire was different.

She was saddened that the people here were wary of her. Of course they would be! She'd smashed the city to bits when she'd arrived. And the fact of alien life scared the daylights out of many people. They were just being humans. However, Starfire just wished to be accepted. Perhaps, if Raven knew her past, she would want that too, if she were her. But she didn't, so she could only assume something happened that made her feel wanted and accepted.

Raven set the basket down as the two sat on a Raven's spare blue sheet. People next to them in the grass played Frisbee and football, and in the field on the other side, separated by a thin sidewalk, kids played soccer. The two sat under Raven's reading tree as they ate. Starfire was happy to spend time with her friend, even if Raven did not do much of the talking. "Raven?" She asked, after eating something humans called a "sandwich".

Raven looked up from her bowl of chips. "Yes?"

"May I…tell you something personal?" Starfire asked the girl. "I wish to tell someone this, and you are most reliable. I know we have not done much of the hanging out, and even you are still wary of me. But you are my only friend of the females."

Raven grew uncomfortable. Azar _knows _what Starfire might talk about that only girls could hear. "Um, sure, Starfire. Shoot."

Starfire gave her a questioning look before raising her hand. "You wish me to produce my starbolts? But there is no enemy here, is there?"

Raven shook her head. "No, er…It means 'go on'. Tell me."

Starfire dropped her hand and set it on her lap, entwining it with the other. "Before I can here, I was…captured. I was a prize. I do not wish to divulge much into what happened, but it was not pleasant. My father gave me up to keep Tamaran safe. And horrible people named the Psions took my sister, Komand'r, oh, sorry, Blackfire, and I captive. They experimented on us, seeing how much energy a Tamaranean body could withstand before…" She trailed off. "That is how my starbolts came to be. They are not natural. They are the accident of freaks, yes?" She asked, trying to get the wording right.

Raven only nodded, not bothering to correct her slang. She felt…sorry for Starfire. It must have been horrible.

"It was most unpleasant." Starfire continued, confirming Raven's thoughts. "I am not what I should be, I am tampered with. My own people were scared of my star bolts when they heard. I can only imagine what the people here on Earth think of me."

Raven tried to comfort the girl. Comfort was not something she was good at giving, however. "Starfire, do you honestly think the people here are comfortable with any of the Teen Titans? I'm half demon. I possess powers beyond their imagination. I can…become demonic. Beast Boy can turn into any animal. Cyborg is half robot. And Robin is a martial arts master, not to mention the protégé of Batman, one of the most feared people."

"But Raven, you are not an alien. The concept of alien life forms to humans is something thought about, but very much feared!" Starfire whimpered. "I have felt fear towards the Citadel and Psions. I know how hard it is to not fear an alien to you. I do not wish to be feared."

"Starfire," Raven said, cautiously choosing her wording. "Starfire, I'm not afraid of you. Robin isn't. Nor is Cyborg or Beast Boy. They are your family. You are theirs. The people here will grow used to us. Being a vigilante is never easy, Starfire. We take matters into our own hands. We break laws, yes, but for the betterment of people. They'll get used to us around here."

Starfire nodded. "I just do not wish to make people afraid. It is never the fun to fear. I would know."

Raven couldn't help but give a tiny grin. "And they'll see that, Starfire."

"See what, Raven?"

"See that you are good. You have the purest heart in the team, Starfire. You only wish for others to be happy and well. And I know you would do anything to keep the people here safe, right?"

"Oh, yes!" Starfire exclaimed. "I do not wish bad things upon anyone."

Raven nodded. "The people will love you for that. You just need to give them time to adjust to the fact that superheroes are in Jump City."

Starfire giggled. "Really? I believe they already do the loving of Beast Boy. The chickens scoop the ears, correct?"

For once, Raven could not contain a small laugh. It was quiet, it was only once, but it was there. And it made Starfire happy that she could have a friend like Raven, so listening and caring. She saw past the darkness and "creepiness" that Beast Boy called it, and saw a friend. "Chicks, Starfire. It's a term used for teenage girls or young women. As for the ears?" She just shook her head.

"I thank you, Raven. It was nice to spend the time with you. You have put my mind at ease. Perhaps I can try to meditate with you again when we get back to the Tower?"

Raven nodded. "That would be nice."

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. It's just some Raven and Starfire bonding time. I know with a past like Starfire's (or, Koriand'r's, before she came to earth), I would hate for people to be afraid of me if I had known what extreme fear towards another was like.

Tell me what you think!

~Suzie


End file.
